'The jobs are there, but the talent isn't'

Lisa Carson, a forklift operator at Verst Group Logistics in Walton, unloads pallets of plastic wrap from a truck at the company’s warehouse. The demand for jobs in transportation, distribution and logistics continues to grow.(Photo: The Enquirer/Patrick Reddy)Buy Photo

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Cincinnati State this month starts new associate's degree in supply chain management.

Goal is to help transform the Cincinnati region into a leader in the growing industry.

Grads could start out earning an annual salary between $35,000 and $60,000.

Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky have the river and the railroads, a cargo-ready airport and highways that reach 60 percent of Americans within a day's drive.

So why not a transportation and distribution hub to grow jobs?

Coming this month: A job-training program at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College designed to help transform the region into a leader in the growing industry of moving goods and materials throughout the U.S. and worldwide.

"The jobs are there, but the talent isn't," said Otis Williams, co-chair of management and business programs at Cincinnati State. "We look at this as a great opportunity to close that gap."

Business, civic and educational leaders say the program is critical to helping the region take more advantage of its strong river, rail, highway and airport infrastructure – and be prepared for an expected boon in freight coming into the U.S.

Some 270,000 transportation, warehousing and logistics jobs will need to be filled in the U.S. each year through 2018, according to the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics. But the nation's educational institutions are producing only 28 percent of the workers with required training, degrees and certifications.

Transportation and logistics account for 7.3 percent of employment – 71,610 total jobs – in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, slightly above the national average, according to federal labor data.

Industry jobs were expected to grow by 11 percent in the region between 2010 and 2020, according to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The region, however, isn't ready for that growth, mostly because of a lack of skilled workers, business leaders say.

"We're behind the curve compared to other parts of the country," said Paul Verst, president and CEO of Verst Group Logistics in Walton. "Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona are all ahead of us in transportation and logistics."

Verst added: "We're looking for middle management people who have a logistics background, and they're just not out there right now."

Logistics jobs are solid, require technology skills

Jobs in transportation, logistics and distribution aren't glamorized on reality television, but they're in demand and can make a solid career.

A Cincinnati State analysis shows new graduates of the program could start out earning an annual salary between $35,000 and $60,000.

"It's not just driving a forklift and moving boxes," said Lawra Baumann, Cincinnati State's grants administrator. "It's about inventory control, using technology. That's where we're trying to get ahead. We're not trying to train to your father's supply-chain skills, but what we're anticipating is a more technologically driven industry."

A growing number of supply-chain jobs also are available for qualified truck drivers – another workforce issue Cincinnati State is addressing through its partnership with Southern State Community College's Truck Driving Academy.

The American Trucking Associations estimates the current shortage of 25,000 drivers will grow to 239,000 by 2022.

The average annual salary for a truck driver is $51,000, according to the career website indeed.com.

Cincinnati State officials are working on allowing students to apply truck-driving academy credits toward the new supply-chain management degree.

"Almost everything you have in your home and in your life – food, furniture, clothes, cellphone, car, TV, the material that built your house – came by truck," said Jane Dunigan of Cincinnati State's Workforce Development Center. "Trucks are the lifeblood of our economy."

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These Cincinnati State leaders (from left) – Daniel Ricciardi, Otis Williams and Jim Kleemeier – are behind an initiative to create a job-training program at the college in order to help people qualify for transportation and logistics jobs.(Photo: The Enquirer/Liz Dufour)

Program 'will help' region attract jobs

Cincinnati State President Dr. O'dell Owens said he got the idea for the supply-chain management program two years ago after talking to a former Procter & Gamble executive who had handled logistics for the Fortune 500 consumer products giant. He told Owens that P&G had to provide its own training for its logistics employees.

Owens began exploring the industry and said he realized companies had a "desperate" need for qualified workers.

The new program has received strong support from the regional business community, transportation agencies and Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley.

The city has approved giving $50,000 to help Cincinnati State with job training in the areas of transportation and logistics.

School officials asked more than 100 companies and agencies to provide feedback on the program, the first of its kind in the region. Among the supporters: Verst Group, Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, REDI Cincinnati, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments and MillerCoors' Trenton Brewery.

Many say it's a perfect example of business and education working collaboratively to fill, grow and retain jobs.

"You can talk about our geographic location until you're blue in the face, but one of the first things companies look for is can they find an educated workforce in this location," said Doug Moormann, a longtime regional economic development leader. "This program will help us to recruit new companies."

Transportation learning center seen in the future

The timing of the new program is right, regional leaders say. Northern Kentucky is experiencing a boom in distribution jobs. International shipping giant DHL is continuing to grow its North American hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport.

And the port authority is working toward remaking Queensgate into a manufacturing center that will rely heavily on the movement of freight.

Further, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is considering a proposal to expand the Port of Cincinnati Ohio River designation to nearly 200 miles from 26 miles. It's mostly for marketing the region to shippers.

The new designation could become crucial as more freight is expected to enter the U.S. when the Panama Canal expansion is complete next year.

"Who's going to be ready to take advantage of that? Where will the freight be distributed?" said Dan Ricciardi, who will run the newly formed Tri-State Transportation and Logistics Council at Cincinnati State. "We have the opportunity to bring it by barge, which many of our competitors – Columbus, Indianapolis – don't."

The Cincinnati State program also is starting just months after the federal government selected the region as one of 12 manufacturing hubs in the U.S. – a designation that puts the area first in line for federal jobs-creating grant money.

Cincinnati State has applied for a $2.5 million grant to help create a high-tech materials handling laboratory.

Officials will find out next month if Cincinnati State will receive the grant money.

Business council plans to help guide program

The Tri-State Transportation and Logistics Council envisions including members from major companies providing input on workforce training and degree programs.

Ricciardi started a similar organization in Columbus in 2008. The Columbus Region Logistics Council partnered with that area's top community college, Columbus State, and the business community to help train workers.

The Columbus council led efforts to obtain a $4.6 million federal grant to help train laid-off workers from other industries in transportation and logistics jobs.

It also pushed for a new interstate interchange to be built to help improve truck access to Rickenbacker Inland Port, a thriving distribution hub.

"If you aren't strong in logistics and transportation, you can't attract companies – manufacturers, advanced manufacturers, automotive, IT, health care. You need a way for your raw materials to come in and your finished goods to be distributed." ■